It was a Paleo Thanksgiving...mostly...

In the next week or so, I'll be reviewing the recipes I found online and prepared for Thanksgiving.  And let me tell ya - I found some gems.  Quite a few of these dishes will be making another appearance come Christmas and for many years to come!

Stay tuned!

Video Introduction to the Paleo Diet

As I was browsing through all my wonderful Paleo and Primal blogs, I found this little golden-nugget-of-a-video on http://www.30daysofpaleo.com/my-blog/2011/09/fireside-chat-with-robb-wolf.html, and I thought I'd share it with you.  It's a great introduction to what "Paleo" is and how it can benefit you.






Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Primal Fitness

Long time no see!  This summer has been a bit crazy - hopefully I'll be able to start posting more soon.

I've been trying to figure out a way to work fitness into everyday in some way, and I had even halfway considered trying crossfit since so many Paleo enthusiasts seem to be in love with it.  But after researching it a bit further, I'm pretty sure I'd hate it.  I'm just not into that kind of workout.  So I considered a regular gym again - nah, it's not me either.  Then I remembered that Kirkland's community center offers a neat quarterly pass where you can go to as many fitness classes as you can for a pretty resonable price.  The classes seem interesting enough, so I signed up.  But I still didn't feel like that alone would cut it.

A few days ago, I had the chance to read through Mark Sisson's blog, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/, and naturally, I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't read through his blog before now.  When you sign up for his newsletter, you get access to some free e-books - nice!  And there it was...a fitness e-book.  FINALLY.

Presentation is everything I guess, and somehow, Mark's presentation spoke to me.  He says that fitness should be made up of three things - move frequently at a slow pace, lift heavy things, and sprint.  (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-succeed-with-the-primal-blueprint/#fitness)

SOLD!  I'm only a few weeks into it, and I'm still working on fitting in heavy lifting and sprinting regularly, but I'm pretty confident this is a pattern I can get into and stick with.  I'll keep you posted on how things go.

I've been in classes for 2 weeks now, and they're pretty great - I'll write a detailed post on them in the next couple of weeks.

Life is tough...

...and so am I.  And so are all of you, but maybe you don't realize it yet.  Forgive me if I go on a bit of a tangent with this post as it will have mostly nothing to do with a Paleo lifestyle.  If you're hell-bent on reading Paleo-only thoughts, skip to the bottom.


The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my life.  My husband has been going through a lot of medical problems - thankfully, none of them have been serious.  But they have been trying, and they have caused us both a tremendous amount of stress.  I thank God ceaselessly that these difficult times haven't torn us apart - actually, they've brought us closer together, which I think is exactly why we haven't cracked up.

I think the stress has really started catching up with me lately though.  I've gained about 9 pounds, which I think probably came from eating my way to comfort.  It's something I've always done, and I've been able to resist the urge for a while.  I've also, as some of you have noticed, withdrawn myself from people.  I'm realizing that multi-tasking (socially or otherwise) is not my strong suit.  And while I do love each of you, Josh is my priority. 

So if I don't participate in a program I used to, or if I don't participate as much as I used to, or if I don't hang out with you as much as you'd like, or if you feel like I'm not there for you, or if you haven't even noticed a change in me - hang tight and be patient with me.  Pray for me, send positive energy to me, or toss me some encouragement.  I've been through a tiny slice of hell this year, so it'll take me some time to heal.

****back to some Paleo thoughts*****

All that said, I'm working on getting my eating under control.  I'm back to eating almost totally Paleo (rice is an occasional indulgence instead of included in every meal), and I'm working really hard on establishing a workout routine.  Have I measured myself?  HELL NO.  My body is a bit wonky as I've stopped taking some meds I used to take, so I'm experiencing a delightful onslaught of...well, side effects.  It'll pass.  And when it does, I'll give it a go.

While most of this post has been negative (BLECK), I'd like to leave you with some positivity.  These are thoughts that have driven me to be healthier, physically and mentally, and I want to share them with you.

You deserve love, happiness, peace and success.  Seek love, seek happiness, seek peace, seek success.  You can absolutely do anything you choose to do.  Step out and take the risk.  And never think for a moment that you're not strong enough.  Because you are strong enough.  You are.

Struggling with Addiction

I have an addiction to food, namely, grains and starches.  It has become especially obvious since I've started drifting away from a strict Paleo diet.  I've added rice and potatoes back to my diet, and my jeans have started noticing.  And so has my brain.

I can feel it as I type - I'm not hungry, but I have this desire to go grab some more of my roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes from the fridge.  I would also kill for a bowl of buttery rice.../drool.  Maybe another rice biscuit and some jam...cobbler...

*Whimper*...

So I'm planning a swift retreat from these enemy foods.  I mean, let's face it - food should not have this power over the mind.  I shouldn't be distracted by the thought of certain foods.  I shouldn't feel like I'm going through withdraws when I just had a freakin' bowl of rice 17 hours ago.  And I DON'T like my size 10s feeling snug like this!

This is getting just a bit ridiculous.  Again.

And that's where the blog comes in.  I figure I need some accountability here, so I'm thinking some daily posts might be in order to get me back on track and keep me there.  I mean, I've got a wonderfully supportive husband who supports all things Paleo, etc., but he's been nudging me for a while to stop all this non-Paleo stuff, and his attempts were met with, "I CAN HAVE WHATEVER I WANT IN MODERATION SO SHUT IT!" type attitude (maybe a pinch less attitude than that, but I was determined).  So I'm guessing that I need more than one person encouraging me.

And here we go - tonight, I plan on doing some measurements, getting a proper before picture, and getting this ball rolling.  I've stalled long enough - I mean, for crying out loud, I really only need to lose maybe 15 more pounds.

How hard can it be, seriously?

Paleo Blackberry Cobbler and Biscuit Adventures

Last summer marked quite possibly the height of my glutony and food indulgence.  We discovered a few years ago that most natives of this area consider blackberry bushes to be the most obnoxious weed known to man and nothing more.  They hack at the bushes, spray them, curse them, and yet they come back each year bigger and pricklier than ever.  Sometime last August, we decided to take advantage of the poor neglected plant for the benefit of our tummies.

Most of the local parks have nearly endless blackberry bushes scattered throughout, and one in particular had easily accessible berries.  So one sunny day, we grabbed our largest plastic bowls and some scissors, and paid a visit to the park to raid the lucious berries.

I'm pretty sure I baked about 3 or 4 blackberry cobblers in about 2 weeks...I honestly can't remember.  You see, I was in a bit of a sugar/gluten/fat coma.  I was tripped out on cobbler.  I would have injected it into my eyeballs if it would have made the taste linger a little longer on my tongue (how injecting anything into your eyeballs can directly affect your taste buds is beyond me, but just roll with it).

I was addicted.  And I could hide behind my husband, point to him and say, "HEY, he ate most of the cobbler!" but I would be lying.  I daresay I ate 3 of the 4 cobblers I fixed by myself...

I was addicted.

Fast forward a year, and blackberries are starting to show themselves at farmers markets, and naturally, all I can think of is, "How can I have my cobbler this year???"  I might have fought back a tear a few times as we passed by the berry stands...

So I decided to go out on a limb and actually try to make some GF/DF (gluten-free/dairy-free; Josh doesn't eat dairy) cobbler.

I knew I wanted a biscuit top because...well, that's just cobbler to me!  So I found this excellent recipe for drop biscuits:

http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/how-to-make-gluten-free-drop-biscuits/

The only problem is that the flour mix she suggested is definitely not Paleo (shhhh, I know rice isn't Paleo either, but we can talk about that another day), so I knew I would have to improvise, and here's what I came up with.

Semi-Paleo Blackberry Cobbler

Topping

2 cups flour mix (I measure out about 1 cup of brown rice flour, 1 cup of sweet white rice flour, and 1/2 cup of tapioca flour to make my flour mix.)

1 tsp baking powder (I don't use baking powder - instead, I put in a bit of baking soda and a pinch of vinegar)

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

6 tbsp shortening (I used palm shortening)

1 cup milk (I used whole fat coconut milk)

1 egg beaten

Sugar

Filling

Berries - I used 4 pints of blackberries, but you can put in as much as you want.  Try mixing different berries!

Agave nectar or honey

Sugar

1 tsp arrowroot powder (though tapioca starch would probably work)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Pour the berries into a baking dish.  Start with maybe 1/4 cup of agave or honey and coat the berries.  Mix well.  Sprinkle some sugar on top and mix again.  I like to crush the berries a bit, but do whatever you want there.

Set the berries aside and click on the drop biscuit link above, and follow the directions.  When you've got your biscuit mixture, drop spoonfuls of the dough on top of the berry mixture and spread it out a bit.  Then sprinkle sugar liberally on top of the dough, and place the cobbler in the oven.

Honestly, I don't know how long it takes, so stick the timer on 35 minutes, and check on the biscuits every few minutes after that - you'll know it's done when the berry mixture is bubbling and the biscuit top is a nice golden brown.

I suggest topping with some gluten free ice cream - <3

Enjoy!  If you make this recipe, let me know how it went!  I'd love to hear stories or see some pictures of the finished product.

Peace out my hommies.

PS:  I also tried making a few drop biscuits w/ the leftover dough.  Good stuff.  Give it a try!

You know you're fully immersed in a Paleo lifestyle when...

...you question what's in your shampoo.  Then you look up all those chemicals in your shampoo.  Then you wonder why in the world companies put chemicals that harsh in your shampoo.  So you buy shampoo that consists of probably 95% organic, natural oils with only 1 slightly bad chemical in it.  And even that bothers you.

...you feel guilty about wearing eye makeup - have you ever looked up all the junk they put in those tubes?!  Petroleum, really?  As in, if I had a ton of this, I could possibly run my car with it?!

...you feel guilty about wearing any kind of make up, moisturizer, or sunscreen.  Seriously, if I'm not putting crap into my body, why would I want to smear crap onto my body?  Enough said.

...you stop using your Bath and Body Works products because they're just as creepy as your old shampoo.  Sad days...

...you stop buying nasty chemical cleaners and start buying locally made "yuppie" soaps which you have to dilute with water and pour into reusable spray bottles.  And then you have no idea what to do with the chemical cleaners you have left over...ugh.

...you throw out all your plastic wear (it didn't say BPA free on the package), and you purchase Pyrex bowls, etc.  BPA is of the devil, and it's EVERYWHERE!

...you realize that since you've stop putting crap in your body and onto your body, it's probably time to stop bringing unnecessary crap into the house.  So you decide to be more frugal and get rid of things in life that you never use.  You buy things when you need them.  You stop impulse shopping (except for today when I found an awesome shirt at Ross.  Yeaaaah).

**********************************************************

A Paleo diet has not only helped me lose weight, but it's also led me to new ways of thinking.  It's taught me to question the "norm" and seek out, for myself, what I feel is best for my body and my life.  I don't need the media to tell me what works for me.  I don't need big agriculture telling me that my health will suffer if I don't eat their GMO grains.  I don't need the government to tell me what proper nutrition is.  I don't need to buy into all those fad diets.

I need to consume the fuel my body was meant to process - you don't put helium in the gas tank of your car, do you?  I would hope not (I wonder what liquid helium would do in a gas tank/engine...I'm guessing it would just freeze it).  The same goes with your body - processed foods, pesticides and preservatives don't grow on trees.  And they ain't meant to fuel your body (definitely wouldn't try liquid helium here - just sayin').

I'm starting to feel like the same concept can be applied to the outside of my body as well as my environment.  You're not only what you eat.  You're how you act and interact with your world.  I choose to be as naturally me as possible, inside and out.  One step at a time.